The Girl with Pointy Ears
Indeed... The Black Dragon's illusions are truly remarkable. The magical knowledge embedded in its heart will be of great help to you.
Kalderet had finally grasped Adel's true objective.
"Exactly. As a dragon of illusions, it's a race more proficient in magic than any other. Through it, I might find a new path beyond merely fusing divine power and mana—something I truly need."
That was why Adel had come here before Karno could liberate the city. Once the Liberator King was born, the Black Dragon would meet its end as well.
Be cautious. No race is as insidious as the Black Dragons. This one's an ancient wyrm that's lived nearly a millennium.
Adel nodded at his words.
"But the rewards from hunting it will be just as sweet."
He swallowed involuntarily. The sheer magnitude of the mana condensed within a millennium dragon's heart already filled him with anticipation.
"How fortunate that Shan is still alive."
In his previous life, the desert tribes had weakened from the assaults of the Forgotten Ones. Staying confined to the desert would naturally delay their advance into the central continent.
'I stopped the Shallon catastrophe, but that doesn't mean the demons' emergence is completely blocked.'
To definitively eliminate the demon threat, he would need to strike at the cult guarding the Forgotten Ones' Temple.
'And for that, I need power. The continent still has many kingdoms left, all eyeing the desert covetously.'
Conquering the Forbidden Zone could wait until after he'd seized continental hegemony. Adel knew well that to claim the continent, he first had to seize the desert with his own hands.
'Once I hold true dominion over the desert, the combined might of its forces, Tensha's intelligence network, and Ruinxen's engineers will provide a solid foundation for continental unification.'
If he'd met Karno after unifying the desert tribes, forging an alliance might have been easier—but it would have been too late. Adel's ambitions extended beyond just Karno.
'A dragon heart oxidizes rapidly after death. I missed it in my previous life.'
This time, he steeled his resolve never to repeat that mistake.
Bang!
"P-Please, let me in! My sibling's in there...!! I beg you!"
"Get lost, you rat."
"I'll do anything! Let me join the arena too!!"
"......"
Adel turned at the commotion echoing from deeper in the street and opened the window. The cool air rushing in to replace the bath's steam felt quite refreshing.
Sensing his mana and divine power slowly settling into place, he gazed down at the city.
"I said scram, punk!"
'...What's going on?'
Adel's eyes shifted to the noisy voices at the alley's mouth.
"How dare a runt like you enter the arena? Don't be ridiculous!!! I'm only sparing you out of pity, but if Natan finds out, it'll be hell."
"Please......"
"If you don't wanna die, run while you can. Though from the looks of you, that won't last long."
A ragged boy clutching a man's pants, practically groveling on the ground with a whimpering voice. Adel recognized the man as the registrar from the arena earlier.
"Let go! Anyway, I never saw you!! Stay out of sight if you wanna live!"
Bam!
The door slammed shut irritably, and the ragged boy slumped, head bowed.
"Hmm, nothing special. Looks like he's here searching for a sibling sold into slavery. Common enough in a slave city."
Yes, tragic for the child... but you can't afford to get involved in every little thing like this. It'll derail your plans. Besides, once we kill Shan, the city will be freed anyway.
"True. Still......"
Adel stepped onto the railing and leaped lightly down to the street below.
The city teemed with people, and ragged children like him crammed the alleys. Just another orphaned beggar—but for some reason, the boy's face felt oddly familiar to Adel, making it hard to look away.
Tap.
Landing in the alley, Adel lightly tapped the slumped boy's shoulder.
"Hey."
At the touch, the ragged figure jolted and whipped around. The hood concealing the face fell away.
Round eyes. Dark skin marred by wounds everywhere, but what caught the eye most were the strangely shaped ears—shorter than an elf's, longer than a human's, like a fairy's.
The child stared at Adel, face frozen in terror.
"......Huh?"
Adel tilted his head slightly.
It's a girl.
From afar, the short-cropped hair had made her seem like a boy, but Kalderet was right—it was a girl. Up close, her hair looked self-cut, jagged and uneven in places.
Ears like a fairy's. Not an ordinary human. Razell tribe? They live in the eastern forests... how did she end up here...?
Adel identified her tribe instantly from the ears. Simple reason: he knew someone with identical ones.
'Mad Dog Yohan.'
Despite the moniker, he was a holy knight of the Holy Kingdom. But on the battlefield, he slew more than any berserker. A holy knight for the crusade? Watching him, it seemed more like he used the crusade as an excuse to kill.
'Well, the Razell are a rare tribe, but at least this kid isn't the Mad Dog.'
Yohan was male.
"I get the gist. Stop crying. No one in this city lacks a story."
Thud thud thud!Clank, clank, clank!
As Adel reached to help the girl up, dozens of footsteps echoed. The metallic clangs against the ground marked them as heavily armored.
"Found 'em!!!"
Guards blocking both ends of the alley shouted at Adel.
Among them, a familiar face.
"Siman?"
"That's the punk! The one who killed Yulta-nim!!"
"No wonder Cratel's trash was so obedient... Just as I thought."
At his shout, the guards parted, and a massive man in thick armor strode into the alley.
"This shrimp really killed Yulta?"
"Y-Yes!"
Siman bellowed at Adel, eyes bulging, oblivious to his own fate.
"Hey, you. Give up on finding your sibling yourself. The arena's no place for a kid who's never even held a dinner knife."
Ignoring the giant's bellow, Adel spoke to the girl.
"This bastard......"
Crunch.
The man's face twisted at the dismissal. He hoisted his thick mace high overhead with all his might.
Stab.
In that instant, Adel's dagger plunged from under the man's chin upward.
"Guh...?!"
The blade pierced jaw and tongue, bursting from the mouth in a spray of red blood.
Shing!Slash!
Adel twisted, drew a nearby guard's sword, and cleaved the man's neck with full force.
Thud.
His head hit the ground.
The events unfolded so swiftly the soldiers could only stare, pale-faced and speechless.
"Places like that are for people like me. Still wanna go in and find your sibling?"
The girl nodded firmly, more resolute than the others despite her shock.
"Good. I'll help you."
"......Pardon?"
"Be grateful you were born with those ears."
She looked baffled at his words. Adel just grinned and turned.
Step, step, step.
He approached Siman slowly. The overwhelming pressure made the guards instinctively back away.
"H-Hiiik...?!"
"Haven't finished the job I gave you and you're playing around here? Siman."
"Uh? W-Well......"
Cold sweat beaded on Siman's forehead as his legs trembled, avoiding Adel's gaze.
"......Huh?"
Then his eyes caught the girl's face.
"P-Pointy ears......"
His face lit up as he yelled at Adel.
"Yes!! That's her! I checked the records as ordered. A month ago, Mahal bought a slave—a Razell tribe twin! Has to be her!"
Siman blabbered nonstop to avoid offending Adel.
Not that kid. She's uninitiated, but no demonic aura.
"Then it's the other one."
The sibling? Hmm, possible. But odd... If the other twin's inside, there should be demonic aura.
"We'll find out. We've got our target anyway. Good work, Siman."
Adel turned to him.
"Th-Thank you. Then......"
Stab.
As Siman turned to leave, Adel's sword pierced his back, ripping through his chest.
"G-Guhk......"
Siman looked down at the blade protruding from his chest.
"Clean up your trash before you go."
"Wh-What......"
Siman staggered, shuddered once, and collapsed.
"C-Capture that bastard!!!!"
Someone shouted, but in the fear-dominated alley, no one moved properly.
"Look."
Adel pulled a nameplate from his pocket.
"I'm an arena contestant. Durka, the city's master, tacitly allows fighters' brawls, right?"
For Shan, who needed human lives, such chaos was welcome.
Adel withdrew his sword from Siman's back and sheathed it in a nearby guard's scabbard.
"Fighters causing trouble is commonplace. Guards getting caught up now and then? No big deal. Right?"
He pressed a finger to his lips at the guards.
Gulp.
They knew instinctively: anyone who spoke of this would sleep in a coffin tonight, not a bed.